Marine Shuttle Operations announced that it has finally received financing for its Offshore Shuttle project. In a
press statement the company said the board of Westdeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale (WestLB) of Düsseldorf had
issued its conditional approval to underwrite the loan facility for the first Offshore Shuttle.
The company has mandated WestLB to act as sole arranger and underwriter for the financing. The bank's commitment is
conditional to Marine Offshore completing due diligence as well as securing European government guarantees and
additional financing. The company said they will fulfil these conditions within the next few months.
Franz Eder, president of Marine shuttle, said the agreement "is a critical milestone which we believe serves as an
independent affirmation of the viability of the project." The initial bidding construction contract, completed in the
first quarter of 1999, received strong interest from major construction yards throughout Europe and Korea and
confirmed the company's estimates of costs.

In August, the company started a second round of tenders with a selected shortlist of qualified major international
contractors. The plans are to select the preferred contractor in December, complete the design and engineering work,
and award the EPC contract in time for the construction to begin in mid 2000. The company said completion is
anticipated for the first half of 2002, at the earliest.

With more than 6,500 offshore oil and gas installations world-wide on the continental shelf of around 53 countries,
Marine Offshore is vying to become a leading player in the market for decommissioning, installing, and transporting
offshore oil and gas structures. The company believes that over the next 30 years, most of these structures will have
to be decommissioned at an estimated cost of $ 20 bn to $ 40 bn.
"The company's potential client base has demonstrated a genuine interest in the Offshore Shuttle as an alternative to
the traditional heavy lift offshore barge method fordecommissioning and installation," said Eder. The Marine
president said that an independent study concluded that the Offshore Shuttle concept has distinct competitive
advantages over traditional technologies. Over the past several months, the company has been commissioned to perform
several suitability studies for major oil operators.

The International Affairs Institute (IAI) and OCP Policy Center recently launched a new book: The Future of Natural Gas. Markets and Geopolitics.

The book is an in-depth analysis of some of the fastest moving gas markets, attempting to define the trends of a resource that will have a decisive role in shaping the global economy and modelling the geopolitical dynamics in the next decades.

Some of the top scholars in the energy sector have contributed to this volume such as Gonzalo Escribano, Director Energy and Climate Change Programme, Elcano Royal Institute, Madrid, Coby van der Linde, Director Clingendael International Energy Programme, The Hague and Houda Ben Jannet Allal, General Director Observatoire Méditerranéen de l’Energie (OME), Paris.

For only €32.50 you have your own copy of The Future of Natural Gas. Markets and Geopolitics. Click here to order now!